Thursday, August 30, 2012

Beating a Dead Horse

It's hard to know where to continue, because 2012 has been such an inglorious disappointment.

More than anything else, players, for the most part haven't stepped up and accepted responsibility for exactly how terrible they've performed.

Yes, a few players have performed above the call, David Ortiz when healthy, Cody Ross, and the unlikeliest trio, Pedro Ciriaco, Scott Posednik, and Junichi Tazawa.

What exactly do fans want? My list isn't expansive:

Thankfulness. Players play a child's game for ridiculous money and receive the adulation of young and old alike. Appreciate the game.

Passion. Play hard and have fun. Do the right thing at the right time, and stop with the knucklehead baserunning.

Humility. Yes, we understand that many are called and few are chosen.

Servanthood. Players don't get much time off during the season. I remember going through medical training in the Navy working 185 days in a row. There was no 'off day' dealing with people's lives, and yes, the people who suffer the most are the families when people work hard. But many people struggle with two or three jobs to make ends meet.

Is asking for professionalism so much? Maybe it is. And players (and the Red Sox) do give back, and we don't see that. But it comes with the responsibility of being a Red Sox. If you don't want it, then better to play in obscurity somewhere else.

Meanwhile back in reality, Scott Boras, master salesman, proclaims Jacoby Ellsbury a 'franchise player'. He sure was last season. This year's guy has been for about a week. I'm not mad at Boras, that's his job to promote his players...or Ellsbury, who's struggled with injuries and after a hot streak has a .700 OPS. Who's among his top similarity score? Lyman Bostock. I guess I missed him on that trip to Cooperstown.